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A species of shark rarely seen alive because its natural habitat
is 600 metres or more under the sea was captured on film by staff
at a Japanese marine park this week.

The Awashima Marine Park, south of Tokyo, was alerted by a
fisherman at a nearby port on Sunday that he had spotted an
odd-looking eel-like creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp
teeth.

Marine park staff caught the 1.6-metre-long creature, which they
identified as a female frilled shark, sometimes referred to as a
"living fossil" because it is a primitive species that has changed
little since prehistoric times.

The shark appeared to be in poor condition when park staff moved
it to a seawater pool where they filmed it swimming and opening its
jaws.

"We believe moving pictures of a live specimen are extremely
rare," said an official at the park. "They live between 600 and
1000 metres under the water, which is deeper than humans can
go.

"We think it may have come close to the surface because it was
sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters,"
the official said.

The shark died a few hours after being caught.

Frilled sharks, which feed on other sharks and sea creatures,
are sometimes caught in the nets of trawlers but are rarely seen
alive.

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1169594348990-smh.com.auhttp://www.smh.com.au/news/science/rare-shark-of-the-deep-snapped/2007/01/24/1169594348990.htmlsmh.com.auReuters2007-01-24Rare shark of the deep snappedSpecialsSpecialsSciencehttp://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/01/24/frilled_shark_wideweb__470x259,0.jpg

A frilled shark, rarely seen alive because its natural habitat is 600 metres or more under the sea, photographed by the Awashima Marine Park.